Peters also jokingly questioned why Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly was handing out an award, but added that it didn’t matter because “she’s hot, so who cares?”

Reid, who is also president of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, said the Junos do not “in any way support, nor did we sanction, the off-script remarks.”

On Monday, Joly called the jokes inappropriate.

Others weighed in through social media, including a Twitter user with the handle Raging_Fem who wrote: “Leave it to (Russell Peters) to remind young women that they can be victims of sexual assault at any time.”

Singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer used Twitter to urge Reid to make a public statement about Peters’ on-air remarks. She said the joke about young women “had no place on the Junos.”

Ian Campeau, a member of A Tribe Called Red, blasted Peters’ comments in a Facebook post. He said his daughters heard the sexual assault joke immediately after his opening performance that paid tribute, in part, to missing and murdered indigenous women.

“Think about that,” Campeau wrote in part of the message.

While Peters did not respond to requests for comment, his Twitter account has “liked” tweets from other users who defended him. A “like” for a tweet usually is a sign of supporting that message.

Artists including Amy Millan, a member of Broken Social Scene and of Stars, have pointed out the lack of gender diversity among the Juno nominees, while pop duo Tegan and Sara urged their peers to encourage more young women to enter the industry.

“CARAS and our charitable arm MusiCounts conduct significant efforts to engage and support women, particularly funding initiatives for girls in school and community music programs,” Reid said in his statement.

“While we understand that there is still a lot of work to be done in these areas, we firmly believe the first step is empowering females. CARAS, the Juno Awards, and myself, deeply apologize for the upset this has caused. This incident is not reflective of any views held in our organization.”